Ughhh watching episode 16 in the tea room/restaurant when Chao Feng is leaning in for a kiss because he wants to have some fun (!!!). THAT SCENE ... OMG! I see danger signs flashing in neon lights everywhere. It’s like when you know YOU KNOW someone is going to break your heart and that you should take your heart, your bag and your sanity and sprint 🏃🏻♀️to the nearest exit. But the look in their eyes paralyzes each and every muscle in your body and makes it impossible to think clearly.
And the look that Chao Feng gives Hai Chao when he interrupts the kiss ... if looks could kill we would need another drama to reunite the shards of Hai Chao’s soul!
yes the 4th one is the beast realmheavenly realm is basically the realm with gods/goddesses/deities and immortalsthe…
Yeah, me neither. It's a small detail and probably not important for the story. I was just wondering about it because of his birth and the lack of responsibility from the gods 😂.
yes the 4th one is the beast realmheavenly realm is basically the realm with gods/goddesses/deities and immortalsthe…
I see, thanks! I kept on wondering why no gods would help with sealing the portal. Would you categorize Xuan Shang as an immortal or a god? I understood he was an immortal. My understanding of an immortal was a human who developed themselves through cultivation to a state of immortality. But if Xuan Shang was born in the Heavenly Realm is he a god (of course they are immortal too) rather than an immortal?
I've been wondering about a couple of things in the world of the drama.
1. There are 4 realms. I've seen the Heavenly Realm (that consists of immortals), the Mortal Realm and the Void. Which one is the fourth? Is it the beastly realm or something else?
2. Is there no realm with gods?
3. The world we see is the ordered and structured universe. Xuan Shang was trying to seal it from chaos. I guess this ties in with creation myths that tell that first there was chaos and from chaos order was manifested. But if chaos is evil wouldn't the Void benefit from having it come through?
4. The tree the sisters come from is born from chaos (if I understood it correctly). Why is even having their presence a danger for the four realms? One part of the flower from this tree is light, the other is dark. So there is a duality that comes from chaos when it leaks through to the structured world ... which I guess might be in line with Daoism. But if chaos leaking through to the structured world results in its energy structuring itself, why is it a danger?
I am watching episode 12 and hoping to catch up this weekend. Chao Feng is really in an interesting dilemma: does he choose his ambition, or does he choose love? Right now, he wants both. But the 2 are incompatible because what he needs to do to fulfill his ambition will not be tolerated by Qing Kui. Yet, if he fails in his ambition he won't get the girl either. Tricky, tricky, tricky! I also think the dilemma is something we come across in daily life, though we're never asked to kill anybody. In daily life, ambition can also be substituted with duty or family/society approval. Very relatable. As I said, he wants both, but to have both, he needs to lie to Qing Kui and how long can you keep that up before you're discovered?
So sad about Xuan Shang. The death scene is heartbreaking! What a valiant hero! He deserves more than a statue. I also think it is heartwarming how YeTan is always there in his most difficult moment (whether in spirit or physically), giving him the courage to do what he needs to do. They fight like cats and dogs, but they are there for each other when they need to be.
Agreed on all points but needed to make a correction- Ha Ra knew nothing about his trauma or the reasoning behind…
Again, I haven't watched episode 11 yet, but now that we discuss this I am thinking that perhaps the drama is too short to adequately handle this issue. It shows the process of how they get back together but leaves only two episodes for what drove them apart in the first place. Dealing with that, I think is a lot more important. Especially given the trauma that is involved. In such a short time frame can you really show character development of the FL? Because, yes, I agree with you that you don't easily abandon someone who is drowning especially when you claim to love him (up till episode 10 she hasn't done so yet). Though I don't think that she - with her current personality - is equipped to handle his trauma alone (hence the need for some form of counseling or therapy). And I also agree that she hasn't really grown. She has only found closure by discovering what led to their divorce. I am debating on whether the ML has grown. He has finally gotten off his chest what he has kept to himself for all these years and that is a significant step forward. Unfortunately, that is only the beginning of his journey.
We'll see how the drama handles this in 2 episodes.
Agreed on all points but needed to make a correction- Ha Ra knew nothing about his trauma or the reasoning behind…
I haven't seen the latest episode, but for the trauma he went through, he should have gone into therapy and they should be in couple counseling. I am not sure if you can get through something like that alone. I doubt (but I could be wrong) that the drama will show that as a solution. It is my understanding that Koreans look down on therapy and people who seek therapy (it was a topic of discussion on a news report that aired during the Itaewon tragedy) and this is not unique to South Korea. Multiple cultures frown upon it.
For a drama that focuses on relationships and why they break down, I find the series doesn't offer many solutions to the relationship problems they have shown. But perhaps that wasn't the scope. Perhaps these relationship problems were shown only to have the main characters reflect on their own situation. Yet, up till now it hasn't shown satisfactory solutions to their problems either. Hope it will come in the last two episodes.
But concerning your observation on the FL's love being quite shallow ... I was hoping she would prove to be the opposite in episodes 11 and 12. Will see what happens when I watch them.
I have only watched up to episode 4, but can I say that I love the third demon prince Chao Feng? He is so deliciously evil. He has sex appeal, he has bad boy vibes, he has evil plans that he executes without a drop of remorse, and he lies as easily as he breathes! I LOVE it (and I never like villainous characters)! I am really enjoying this drama so far!
Most K dramas don't have that much realism 😢Often we see main leads overcoming too quickly huge shocks and…
True! The CP is too progressive for his time. I can completely understand how Seong On felt in that situation for that period. Which is why I think the CP might be lacking in his political skills. From my current day perspective, he made the right choice. In that period, I'm not sure if he did. I think the situation really shows the mindset of that period and how important (power) relations were.
Did the CP recognize her as a woman? I thought she confessed to who she was and that's how he found out and he…
She didn't confess it. He deduced it from her introduction. He dismissed the idea that she was a male imposter and assumed she was her father's daughter. Perhaps I'm being too harsh on Sung On 😂
Most K dramas don't have that much realism 😢Often we see main leads overcoming too quickly huge shocks and…
So sad! 😢 I feel that that touch might have given the CP a reason to be extra protective of her, it could have partially justified why he was swayed to believe her and make the love story more juicy. Also, it would have made her character's strength shine more.
I am enjoying the drama so far, and there were two things that I found really interesting these are my observations:
The scenes with the turtle are very telling of the relationship between the CP and Sung On. It isn’t all sunshine between them. Sung On isn’t completely loyal to the CP. The CP distrusts him, and his distrust is justified.
Another interesting point I found was the serial murder case. Though from my (21st century) perspective, the CP made a good decision on the case by acting on 2 plausible theories, it shocks me that Sung On felt the CP should have acted on loyalty towards him (which he does not reciprocate) rather than reason. Wasn’t the whole point of the exercise a discourse to come to the truth? Is Sung On’s idea of a discourse a setting where he asserts his opinion and everyone agrees? These two episodes really drive the point that, in this court, relationships are more important than reason/truth. I think this scene shows two possible things: 1. the CP is not good at politics, and his inability to do so and understand power relations is going to get him in trouble; 🤔 or 2. the CP is good at politics, and his actions are deliberate (but for what purpose?). 🤔
There are a couple of small details that bother me, though: - How is it that only the CP was able to tell that the FL was a woman? How is it that Sung On can’t tell the same and isn’t able to recognize his fiancé? 🤯 - The FL’s family has just been killed, and yet she is able to smile so brightly at the CP. For me, that is where she is lacking a bit. Given the circumstances, I felt it should have been a sad smile. A smile that reflects finding small moments of joy in a really sad situation.
My two cents on today’s episode is that it was trying to say that people walk away too easily from a marriage. They don’t stick it out and resolve their issues. [Side note: It was surprising to me that Hong Yeo Rae walked away from her marriage and left her three daughters behind. The same as Ki Seo Hee!]
I see a lot of discussions on this platform on whether the leads should remain together or not. Whether they do or don’t, there is a lot they left unresolved in their marriage because it abruptly stopped with a lie. The love is there, but sometimes love is not enough to keep a couple together when storms arise (be they unresolved childhood issues, meddling parents, or other things). There were different ways in which the leads weren’t there for each other and things they couldn’t share with each other and deal with together. No one teaches you how to be a married couple, and if you haven’t gotten that example at home, things are even more difficult.
Luckily, thanks to the drama gods, they have been brought back together, and a series of lessons have been prepared for them! So, they get a chance to address all these issues and learn from these mistakes. Perhaps if the issues are cleared up, they can come back together now, knowing more about each other and how to take care of each other. If the leads prove to be incompatible, then at least they can find closure and move on. Because isn’t that the essence of Oh Ha Ra’s question in episode 1 or 2 when she was in the car with the actor: How do you become happy after your divorce? (or as I have interpreted it in her case: how do you move on?)
And the look that Chao Feng gives Hai Chao when he interrupts the kiss ... if looks could kill we would need another drama to reunite the shards of Hai Chao’s soul!
1. There are 4 realms. I've seen the Heavenly Realm (that consists of immortals), the Mortal Realm and the Void. Which one is the fourth? Is it the beastly realm or something else?
2. Is there no realm with gods?
3. The world we see is the ordered and structured universe. Xuan Shang was trying to seal it from chaos. I guess this ties in with creation myths that tell that first there was chaos and from chaos order was manifested. But if chaos is evil wouldn't the Void benefit from having it come through?
4. The tree the sisters come from is born from chaos (if I understood it correctly). Why is even having their presence a danger for the four realms? One part of the flower from this tree is light, the other is dark. So there is a duality that comes from chaos when it leaks through to the structured world ... which I guess might be in line with Daoism. But if chaos leaking through to the structured world results in its energy structuring itself, why is it a danger?
Just some musings ...🤔
So sad about Xuan Shang. The death scene is heartbreaking! What a valiant hero! He deserves more than a statue. I also think it is heartwarming how YeTan is always there in his most difficult moment (whether in spirit or physically), giving him the courage to do what he needs to do. They fight like cats and dogs, but they are there for each other when they need to be.
We'll see how the drama handles this in 2 episodes.
For a drama that focuses on relationships and why they break down, I find the series doesn't offer many solutions to the relationship problems they have shown. But perhaps that wasn't the scope. Perhaps these relationship problems were shown only to have the main characters reflect on their own situation. Yet, up till now it hasn't shown satisfactory solutions to their problems either. Hope it will come in the last two episodes.
But concerning your observation on the FL's love being quite shallow ... I was hoping she would prove to be the opposite in episodes 11 and 12. Will see what happens when I watch them.
The scenes with the turtle are very telling of the relationship between the CP and Sung On. It isn’t all sunshine between them. Sung On isn’t completely loyal to the CP. The CP distrusts him, and his distrust is justified.
Another interesting point I found was the serial murder case. Though from my (21st century) perspective, the CP made a good decision on the case by acting on 2 plausible theories, it shocks me that Sung On felt the CP should have acted on loyalty towards him (which he does not reciprocate) rather than reason. Wasn’t the whole point of the exercise a discourse to come to the truth? Is Sung On’s idea of a discourse a setting where he asserts his opinion and everyone agrees? These two episodes really drive the point that, in this court, relationships are more important than reason/truth. I think this scene shows two possible things:
1. the CP is not good at politics, and his inability to do so and understand power relations is going to get him in trouble; 🤔 or
2. the CP is good at politics, and his actions are deliberate (but for what purpose?). 🤔
There are a couple of small details that bother me, though:
- How is it that only the CP was able to tell that the FL was a woman? How is it that Sung On can’t tell the same and isn’t able to recognize his fiancé? 🤯
- The FL’s family has just been killed, and yet she is able to smile so brightly at the CP. For me, that is where she is lacking a bit. Given the circumstances, I felt it should have been a sad smile. A smile that reflects finding small moments of joy in a really sad situation.
I see a lot of discussions on this platform on whether the leads should remain together or not. Whether they do or don’t, there is a lot they left unresolved in their marriage because it abruptly stopped with a lie. The love is there, but sometimes love is not enough to keep a couple together when storms arise (be they unresolved childhood issues, meddling parents, or other things). There were different ways in which the leads weren’t there for each other and things they couldn’t share with each other and deal with together. No one teaches you how to be a married couple, and if you haven’t gotten that example at home, things are even more difficult.
Luckily, thanks to the drama gods, they have been brought back together, and a series of lessons have been prepared for them! So, they get a chance to address all these issues and learn from these mistakes. Perhaps if the issues are cleared up, they can come back together now, knowing more about each other and how to take care of each other. If the leads prove to be incompatible, then at least they can find closure and move on. Because isn’t that the essence of Oh Ha Ra’s question in episode 1 or 2 when she was in the car with the actor: How do you become happy after your divorce? (or as I have interpreted it in her case: how do you move on?)